Surprised by the Depths

Morning Barton Springs Swim Report, 4/09

Gray, a little chilly. A young man at the gate is delighted to discover that it’s unlocked, the pool is open. '“Do you love it?” he asks me. Yes, I do.

6:30AM, later than my weekday swims. At the end of the first lap I jump as something passes beneath me, a little paddling turtle. Perhaps I startle him, too.

Usually I swim two or three laps, so half or three-fourths of a mile. Every now & then, a whole mile. Because life has kept me from regular swimming, I have been gentle with myself, or terribly lazy: the story of my life is that I can never tell the difference, & laze & excoriate & overextend myself in turn, often over the exact same circumstance. Today I swam half a mile. Tomorrow, three-fourths, or so I told myself as I sloshed to shore.